The reality of the death of millions of ducks heading towards Britain's supermarket shelves under the RSPCA's Freedom Foods scheme was exposed by the first undercover investigation into the slaughter of Britain's favourite bird.

Leading animal campaigning group Viva! secretly filmed the slaughter of ducks inside a factory of a company who supply major supermarkets including Waitrose, Co-Op, Asda and Sainsbury's.

The footage shows ducks struggling in distress as they are shackled, sent along a line to an electrocution tank, de-feathered and then having their heads pulled off. Workers also make the shocking admission that vets hardly ever observe slaughter.